Head of Design & Experience

Semafor•New York, NY

17h•$220,000 - $240,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Semafor is seeking a Head of Design & Experience to build Semafor’s first design function and lead the next evolution of Semafor’s visual identity and experience system across brand, editorial, product, and live journalism platforms. This role will own how Semafor shows up across every major touchpoint: newsletters, digital products, app, editorial franchises, marketing, campaigns, partnerships, corporate materials, and physical convenings and events, including Semafor World Economy, Silicon Valley & the World, and 50+ other forums and roundtables. This is a creative leadership role. The ideal candidate will set Semafor’s design vision and elevate our ambition, while orchestrating execution across a variety of design disciplines. They bring strong creative judgment, systems thinking, and proven ability to lead and develop a design function within a complex organization. They'll partner closely with peer leaders across Brand, Events, Product, Editorial, and Marketing while leading design strategically. This person must be able to translate Semafor’s brand strategy into a cohesive design system that works across screens, stages, spaces, products, and live environments. They should bring the creative judgment to elevate the brand, the technical knowledge to guide execution, and the operational discipline to move ambitious work from concept through production at a high standard and high velocity. The role requires someone who can think systemically and strategically: building design languages that are distinctive, scalable, and ownable, while ensuring every expression of Semafor feels sophisticated, consistent, modern, and unmistakably connected to the brand.

Requirements

15+ years of experience in design or creative leadership across digital, brand, editorial, or experiential disciplines — ideally in media, premium content, or comparable sectors.
Significant experience leading design spanning design disciplines (e.g., digital and physical environments), including brand systems, newsletters, apps, websites, live events, stage environments, signage, wayfinding, and built experiences
Proven ability to own and evolve a sophisticated visual identity system across a complex, multi-platform organization
Deep understanding of digital publishing, editorial products, reader experience, UX, typography, information design, newsletter design, app design, and reusable product design systems
Demonstrated experience designing for premium live experiences, executive convenings, conferences, brand environments, or large-scale event platforms
Technical fluency in physical production, including scenic design, fabrication, AV, lighting, motion graphics, materials, environmental graphics, installation, and onsite execution
Experience sourcing, RFPing, briefing, managing, and holding accountable external agencies, with a bonus if experience overseeing production vendors, fabricators, motion designers, product designers, AV partners, and experiential specialists
Minimum of 5+ years of management experience, with a record of developing design talent, leading high-performing creative teams, and establishing clear standards of excellence
Strong systems thinker, with the ability to create scalable design languages, templates, guidelines, workflows, and governance across brand, product, editorial, and event touchpoints
Exceptional creative judgment, with high standards for typography, hierarchy, layout, motion, materials, spatial design, usability, and finish
Strong cross-functional leadership skills, with experience partnering across Brand, Editorial, Product, Events, Marketing, Sales, Partnerships, Production, and senior leadership
Strong project management and prioritization skills, with the ability to lead multiple high-priority workstreams from concept through execution
Experience managing budgets, scopes, timelines, production schedules, creative reviews, approval workflows, and onsite
Entrepreneurial mindset with a builder’s orientation, high standards for quality, and deep ownership of outcomes
Bachelor’s degree, preferably in graphic design, communication design, product design, architecture, environmental design, industrial design, or a related field. Advanced degree a plus
Willingness to work in person four days per week in New York and travel domestically and internationally as needed.

Responsibilities

Own and evolve Semafor's visual identity as the primary expression of brand and business strategy
Build and govern a unified design system that scales across digital products, editorial surfaces, brand and marketing, and live experiences
Ensure Semafor's core brand and sub-brands integrate coherently across every touchpoint — digital, editorial, events, marketing, and partnerships
Set the creative bar across all Semafor design work and serve as senior arbiter of creative quality and brand coherence
Provide art direction, feedback, and approval at decision points across digital products, editorial design, brand campaigns, and events
Lead the creative system for Semafor events across staging and physical environmental builds, stage and motion graphics, signage and wayfinding, digital and printed promotional materials, partner assets, and onsite digital surfaces
Ensure live experiences feel cohesive, premium, navigable, technically polished, and unmistakably connected to Semafor’s brand and journalism
Own the visual design system for Semafor’s core reader products, including newsletters, app, website surfaces, editorial franchises, special reports, recurring formats, and new digital products
Establish Semafor's design as a clear source of competitive differentiation in a crowded media landscape
Build and develop the design function - hire, structure, and develop a team that can span product, brand, editorial, and experiential design disciplines.
Deepen Semafor’s design community of practice and clarify the bar for craft excellence
Establish design workflows, decision-making processes, and quality standards across embedded and centralized teams.
Build and manage a vendor bench across motion, illustration, editorial, experiential, and scenic/fabrication work
Lead cross-functional partnerships with Product, Editorial, Events, and Marketing — both through embedded designer relationships and direct peer collaboration
Champion design as a strategic discipline at the leadership level, ensuring design considerations shape business and editorial decisions